William Grant & Sons said that it had not yet reached a final decision on which agency would be appointed. Agencies in the running include VCCP, M&C Saatchi and the New York-based Merkley Newman. McCann-Erickson will continue to work on the brand in France and Spain.
It is the latest in a series of account losses for McCann-Erickson, including Coca-Cola, which is now handled by Mother, as well as Kwik Save, Somerfield, Birds Eye and Greene King. Last month, the agency made nine staff redundant.
McCann-Erickson had handled the Glenfiddich brand for 27 years until 1999, when DDB London was appointed to work on a new marketing push aimed at updating Glenfiddich's image. It won the account back in 2001 and introduced a new strapline: "independent spirit".
In 2002 Glenfiddich returned to television advertising for the first time in five years. The company said that a decision on the appointment of a new agency was "imminent".
Glenfiddich, which means "valley of the deer" in Gaelic, is the world's biggest-selling single malt Scotch whisky. The distillery where it is still made was built in 1886 by William Grant and his family.
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